About Dr Abbey

Dr Brenda Abbey is the owner and operator of Childcare by Design. Dr Abbey has more than 30 years' experience in the early childhood sector. The extensive and multi-faceted experience she gained during this time together with the effective working relationships and collaborative networks she formed with government and non-government agencies, peak bodies, early education and care services and other professionals ensure best possible outcomes for her clients.

Dr Abbey's experience includes:

Teacher (Preschool, Kindergarten, Primary, Special Education)

Director of private, community and school-based centres

Validator with the QIAS

Early Childhood Officer with the Office for Early Childhood Education and Care (Queensland)

Dr Abbey provides a wide range of services and products to the early education and care sector. She has particular interest and expertise in supporting educators to meet the National Quality Standard and the Early Years Learning Framework, and is highly sought after as a speaker, workshop presenter and trainer on these and other early childhood topics. Dr Abbey has co-developed a very popular range of educational resources which include Policies and Procedures, DVDs, CDs and poster sets. These resources are used by Universities, TAFE colleges, RTOs and early education and care services throughout Australia.

In addition, Dr Abbey has developed an easy-to-use NQS self-evaluation computer program to support services in writing the QIP required as part of their continuous quality improvement.

Dr Abbey specialises in working with clients, architects and landscapers during Pre Design, Concept Design, Design Development, and Development Application stages. She also works with clients to ensure the development meets all relevant legislative requirements as well as those of the Regulatory Authority for Provider and Service Approvals. Once operating, each service is individualistic, delivers high quality education and care programs, and has the capacity to operate as a successful business.

Prior to opening her own consultancy, Dr Abbey was the foundation director of a privately owned childcare centre licensed for 74 children and also the foundation director of an independent school-based centre licensed for 150 children. She was a validator of the Quality Improvement and Accreditation System with the then National Childcare Accreditation Council (NCAC), one of only two validators to be employed directly by the NCAC. In this capacity, she travelled interstate and to far north of Queensland. In addition, she was employed by the Office for Early Education and Care (the Queensland Regulatory Authority) where she licensed children’s services and monitored their regulatory compliance, and consulted with investors and prospective operators in developing new services.

Dr Abbey has also held teaching positions in the Australian Capital Territory and Queensland, and lectured in early childhood and children’s services at University and TAFE. She has written, and content reviewed, curriculum for Certificate and Diploma qualifications for students enrolled in Children’s Services at the Queensland Open Learning Institute of TAFE. She has been published many times in early childhood professional journals and authored a regular column in a regional newspaper. Dr Abbey is the author of Managing compliance in childcare services: The essential guide for Queensland practitioners (AusVoc, 2009).

Dr Abbey is a committed advocate for quality education and care environments and programs for young children. .